On Duty

 

September 16,

Well, I can’t think of anything to write about, so I will just write about my day on duty. It started off with my alarm sounding at 5:40 a.m. ugh, that is way too early, and it’s still dark out I thought to myself.  I slowly rolled out of bed, got ready for work, fed and water the dogs. Then I was off for another exciting day at the fire station. Now, some days may be exciting, some not so much.  With this job, you never know when you may be toned out for a house fire, car accident or medical emergency.  Or, you may spend the whole 24 hours not turning a wheel.

Work starts at 7:00 a.m. first thing that has to be done, I check my gear making sure I have all my personal protective equipment. Then, it’s time to check my apparatus, a 45 ft. long, 10 ft. wide, and 12 ft. high with a 95 ft. platform truck.  All the medical bags, air packs, and equipment this usually takes a couple of hours.

Then we spent the next two hours training on pump operations, which is something I enjoy since my main job is that of a pump operator. Training is a big part of our job, whether we are training on medical, pump operation, extraction, or fire extinguishment. After lunch we ran two medical calls. I spent some time ordering fire prevention material and contacting the elementary schools in town, to schedule time for the fire department to come visit the 1^st and 2^nd grade classes during Fire Prevention Week.

Well, so far this shift has been slow and that’s okay, but, I still have 11 more hours to go before my shift is over.  A lot can still happen.